The Access to The Arts Initiative.

I have some amazing news. For the past two years, RPAC has been working with Rockland University and Maryland Institute College of Art on The Access to The Arts Initiative, a project which would send professors and students from the Universities into Accra, Ghana, Junior and Senior High Public schools to teach art, music and dance, at no cost to the schools or the students. As you know, this Initiative is so important because of the successive cuts to the arts programs in the affiliate public schools in Accra, Ghana that have left over half of our children without any arts enrichment classes at all! The Access to The Arts Initiative will insure that every child in our public schools has atleast one arts class each week. I am happy to report that the mayor of Accra, Ghana has approved our program, and we can begin in June, 2018 ! This is amazing news, and shows the confidence the city has in our programs. But… in order to launch next coming school year, we need your help! The Access to The Arts Initiative is a massive undertaking. This coming year, we will be:

1. Offering 45 different arts courses across 25 different public schools

2. Launching 8 arts courses in all 25 public Schools

3. Fostering a love and appreciation for art, music, and dance in over 10,000 students

After completing our budget, we realized that we still needed to raise an additional $52,000 in order to launch this program next year. We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to raise that much, which would mean not launching next year……but how could we not launch next year, and leave so many children without arts education for another school year? Then, an amazing anonymous donor stepped forward to announce that if we are able to raise $25,000 by June 1st, he will match it with a$52,000 donation to the program. That’s why I am writing to you today, and why we need your help. We may never have the opportunity for a matching gift like this again. If we don’t hit our goal, we will not be able to launch The Access to The Arts Initiative next year. Will you join us in this effort by making a generous donation of $250, $500, $1000 or whatever you can afford today? Every dollar you donate will help us reach our goal, and insure that we are able to receive the full $25,000 matching grant. Remember, only donations received prior to June 1st will qualify for the matching gift challenge. Please, help us launch this important initiative and change the lives of thousands of school children in our initiative next year!

With gratitude,

Carl Foster

Executive Director

P.S. We have received an amazing $25,000 matching gift challenge, and need your help to reach our goal. Your gift of $250, $500, $1000 or whatever you can afford will help us reach this goal and make sure that we can launch The Access to The Arts Initiative this year! Please make your most generous contribution today!